Quality assessment of farmed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) during chilled storage.

The quality changes of farmed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) stored in ice for a period of up to 20 (0, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20) d were determined by chemical (total volatile basic nitrogen [TVB-N], free fatty acid (FFA), thiobarbituric acid (TBA), peroxide value (PV), heme iron), microbiological (total viable counts, TVC), and sensory methods. The TVB-N level showed fluctuations during storage, indicating that TVB-N could not be a good indicator of rainbow trout quality. The TBA values remained low and were found to fluctuate during storage. The PV values and the release of FFA increased (P<0.05), while heme iron content decreased during storage. The total viable counts of rainbow trout increased (P<0.05) from the initial value of 4.0 log CFU/g (day 0) to 7.04 log CFU/g (day 20) over the period of storage. This study showed that sensory analysis of rainbow trout correlated well with the microbiological analysis. The results of this study according to microbiological and sensorial data indicated that the shelf life of rainbow trout stored in ice was approximately 9 to 11 d.